My my, how can I resist ya?

My programme for the show

For my first theatre outing of 2015, I am off to a Greek island and I'm surrounded by people singing Abba.... That's right. If you haven't already guessed it yet, the next show I'm going to talk about is the International Tour of Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia, which I saw at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. As well as it being the first time ever seeing this show on stage, it was the first time I had ever seen anything in Liverpool; but as I had a friend in Liverpool anyway, and another friend interested, I wondered - why not make a day of it!

Now, before we get started getting into the nitty gritty (or my equivalent of it), I have to mention the film, released in 2008, and starring the likes of Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Amanda Seyfried. The funny thing is that though it's the same story, characters and songs, it feels completely different to the stage original. So now that I've done that, I can tell you that I wasn't a fan of the film. I think the thing that let it down for me was that it was WAY too over-hyped. Therefore, when I eventually got around to watching it, I was expecting something amazing, and I didn't get that....
So in a way, I wasn't really keen on seeing it on stage for a long time as the film put me off a little bit. But when I heard that it was coming to Liverpool (which is the only UK mainland date on this International Tour), I realised that I should try it out, at the very least to see if there was any difference between the two; I'm happy to say that I'm glad I made that decision.

Originally shown in London in 1999, and then on Broadway in 2001, Mamma Mia is a jukebox musical (a musical that uses previously recorded songs for its score, for anyone who didn't know) like Jersey Boys (see my review of 2014 to find it). But unlike Jersey Boys, which was telling the story of the Four Seasons and felt more like a play with the songs woven in, Mamma Mia really is a musical, with an original story and the songs of Abba thrown in for good measure. Does it mean that they can be a bit out of place sometimes? Yes, but it just makes Mamma Mia the feel good show that it is, and if done right, it just makes the audience laugh (*cough* Rosie and Bill during Take A Chance On Me *cough*).

The story centres around single mother Donna and daughter Sophie, who is getting married to her boyfriend Sky. After finding and reading Donna's diary, Sophie decides to invite three men from her mother's past to her wedding - all of whom could be her dad - in the hope that she can find out who her dad is and ask him to walk her down the aisle; and as you'd expect, hilarity ensues....

As far as performances go, they truly bring the characters to life. Donna (played by either Sara Poyer or Francesca Ellis (couldn't tell which one it was, sorry)) was incredibly deep and powerful and whose version of The Winner Takes It All (which is my favourite Abba song btw) gave me goosebumps - it really was heartbreaking! In contrast, her friends Tanya (played by Shobna Gulati) and Rosie (Su Devaney), had the audience laughing their socks off every time they were on stage- their comic timing during songs such as Chiquitita, Dancing Queen and (in Tanya's case) Does Your Mother Know was just brilliant.
Niamh Perry was also wonderful as Sophie, giving her something that I don't really remember much in the film - A LOT of frustration that Donna never told her who her father was and a real passion to "do it right". I remember Niamh when she was in I'd Do Anything on the TV, and it's really nice to know she's doing well.
The final person I'm going to mention is Richard Standing as Sam, one of the possible dads, and this is really for his performance of Knowing Me, Knowing You. He turned what I think is not the best song from meh to wow! It just got better and better, and knocked Pierce Brosnan's performance from the film out of the water (sorry Pierce) from the first bit as far as I was concerned.

There was unfortunately a technical hitch during the middle of the performance, but it didn't really halt the show very much. All it managed to do I suppose was give a chance for all the ladies in the audience to recover - Lay All Your Love On Me had just come before it, featuring Sky being stripped down to just a pair of tight trunks and then dancing in flippers with the male ensemble - judging by all the cheers and whistles, a lot of girls were at that point perhaps regretting not paying the £1 for binoculars... Maybe they managed to find them for Does Your Mother Know?

Though it was definitely not the best musical I have seen, I wasn't expecting it to be - though that's just my tastes. At the end of the day, Mamma Mia is a big bundle of fun, laughter and colorful lycra. During the finale, people were out of their seats, clapping and dancing in the aisles, as you'd expect and as was the case with Jersey Boys. If you want a fun night out with your girl-friends that will guarantee a smile on your face, then Mamma Mia is perfect for you. Get yourself over to Liverpool to catch the tour version, or to the West End.

It is only until Liverpool until mid-March, and then it jets off around the world, including cities such as Johannesburg and Milan - Liverpool is the only mainland UK destination.
So go on, take a chance on Mamma Mia. I did, and I don't think I will be regretting it for a long time.